purr

or pur

[ pur ]

/ pɜr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR purr ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

to utter a low, continuous, murmuring sound expressive of contentment or pleasure, as a cat does.

(of things) to make a sound suggestive of the purring of a cat: The new motor of the car purred.

verb (used with object)

to express by or as if by purring.

noun

the low, vibrating sound made by a cat by the contracting of the laryngeal muscles and the diaphragm as it breathes.

a sound resembling this.

the act of purring.

Nearby words

purpura simplex, purpure, purpuric, purpurin, purpurinuria, purr, purree, purse, purse crab, purse seine, purse strings

Origin of purr

First recorded in 1595–1605; imitative

Related forms

purr·ing·ly, adverb

Can be confused

per purr (see usage note at per)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for purr

If there was an Oscar for performances by felines, Inside Llewyn Davis should rightfully have claimed that too, with a purr.
Why No Oscar Love For 'Inside Llewyn Davis'?|Tim Teeman|January 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We always have fun,” she confided in her lilting Slovenian purr.
Obama Roasts Trump|Lloyd Grove|May 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Move cautiously and reassuringly and the bear will purr contentedly.
Democrats, Forever Changed|Peter Beinart|March 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The newspapers pounced on them with joy, as cats pounce and purr on catnip.
In a Little Town|Rupert Hughes

The strung sinews relaxed, and the great cat began to purr as though she had never dreamt of mousing.
The Spanish Pioneers|Charles F. Lummis
She sighed, but her sigh was a nearer approach to a purr than before, though her objections were far from being finished.
Cat and Dog|Julia Charlotte Maitland
Like cats they curve their backs, they purr inwardly with their approaching happiness,—all good things laugh.
Thus Spake Zarathustra|Friedrich Nietzsche
And the Cat said, "Can you curve your back, and purr, and give out sparks?"
Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol. 2|Charles Dudley Warner

British Dictionary definitions for purr

purr

/ (pɜː) /

verb

(intr) (esp of cats) to make a low vibrant sound, usually considered as expressing pleasure, etc

(tr) to express (pleasure, etc) by this sound

noun

a purring sound

Word Origin for purr

C17: of imitative origin; compare French ronronner to purr, German schnurren, Dutch snorren

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012